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Throughout the first two years of AEW's existence, perhaps no other part of the wrestling product was criticized as often the women's division.
All Elite Wrestling launched with a women's roster that consisted mostly of joshi puroresu stars and a handful of American performers that very few people had heard of.
The inaugural champion, Riho, may have been famous in the Land of the Rising Sun, but the vast majority of American fans had no clue who she was. Therefore she lacked credibility, and the fact that she only weighed around 90 pounds didn't help much.
Nyla Rose was better known, if only for the controversy surrounding her and the disrespectful people on social media who chose to hurl insults in her direction. And Hikaru Shida, who did an outstanding job during her reign as champion, didn't communicate enough with the audience to make a true connection.
Of the list of AEW Women's Champions, only one - current titleholder Britt Baker - had any real standing in America. And she wasn't exactly a household name to begin with.
So there it was. A division built on Japanese stars and American unknowns.
Since then, AEW has done a great job stocking the cupboard with a mix of talent and styles.
Over the past year, however, we've seen a whole new class of recruits that bring not only name recognition, but also a terrific mix of different ring styles that have really spiced up the division.
Former WWE star Ruby Soho has joined the organization and brings with her the assets of mainstream exposure. Thunder Rosa represents the lucha libre side of things along with several of her fellow competitors. And of course, there is still the Japanese influence that the AEW Women's division was founded on, although it's moved further into the background recently.
Jade Cargill, Mercedes Martinez, Leyla Hirsch, Emi Sakura and Kris Statlander - all with different builds, different backgrounds and different skills. And as you go up and down the roster, you'll notice a lot of diversity when it comes to size and wrestling techniques. It's a great cocktail when you mix it all together.
AEW's women's division may have once been considered the company's weak point, but that's all changed here in 2022.
The young promotion may not be in a position to feature the massive amount of talent that WWE currently has on its roster, but they have improved dramatically. A great part of that success is building the division around various sizes, styles, shapes and skills. That 'stone soup' of talent has made all the difference.
Which female AEW star do you think will have the biggest year in 2022? Please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
